This disclosure relates to improvements to assemblies for cameras or other sensing units used in vehicles.
Many modern vehicles employ cameras or other sensors to help detect the presence of objects around the vehicle that are normally difficult for the driver to see. Perhaps the most common example of this is the backup camera that is found in many vehicles to help a driver see the area around the rear bumper to avoid backing the vehicle into an object or a person. Such a camera is particularly useful in large vehicles such as trucks or sport utility vehicles, in which the height of the vehicle from the ground as well as the presence of a tail gate or a rear door makes it particularly difficult to see behind the vehicle due to the size and geometry of the vehicle.
Traditional systems either (1) employ fixed cameras or sensors that are always directed at the same location relative to the surface on which the camera or sensor is mounted or (2) employ a stowed or hidden camera or sensor, in which the camera or sensor is temporarily deployed from a hidden position when the camera or sensor is placed into use. Such hidden cameras or sensors often have a cover that is pivoted to permit the camera or sensor to be moved into a specific use position and, when the camera or sensor is not in use, the camera or sensor may returned to the stowed position and re-covered.